Comparison of Outcomes After Mechanical Thrombectomy Alone or Combined with Intravenous Thrombolysis and Mechanical Thrombectomy for Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke due to Large Vessel Occlusion.

BACKGROUND: Whether intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) before mechanical thrombectomy (MT) provides additional benefits remains controversial. We aimed to compare clinical and radiologic outcomes between IVT+MT and MT alone groups.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and radiological features of patients from the prospectively collected database who sustained anterior circulation stroke due to large vessel occlusion (LVO) and were treated with MT within 8 hours of symptom onset. We compared rates of successful reperfusion, functional independence and mortality at 90 days, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) as clinical endpoints between the 2 groups.

RESULTS: The 81 patients included in this study included 38 (46.9%) in the MT alone group (mean age, 72.6 ± 14.1 years; 17 males [44.7%]) and 43 in the IVT+MT group (mean age, 68.9 ± 12.8 years; 29 males [67.4%]). There were no significant differences in patient baseline characteristics between the 2 groups except for a male predominance in the IVT+MT group. The mean interval from onset to groin puncture (221.6 ± 110.5 minutes vs. 204.7 ± 63.7 minutes; P = 0.472) and the rate of successful reperfusion rate (thrombolysis in cerebral infarction 2b/3, 60.5% vs. 58.1%; P = 0.827) did not differ significantly between the MT and IVT+MT groups. The rate of favorable functional outcome, as determined by a modified Rankin Scale score 0-2 (36.8% vs. 51.2%; P = 0.263) and mortality at 90 days (18.4% vs. 9.3%; P = 0.332), and the rate of sICH (5.3% vs. 4.6%; P = 1.000) were also not significantly different between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that previous IVT might not facilitate successful reperfusion and favorable functional outcomes in patients with anterior circulation stroke treated with MT. MT alone can be a safe and effective treatment modality in patients who are ineligible for IVT for various reasons.